Meet My Friend!
When I attended the Mount Hermon Writer’s Conference in 2008, I was forced to decide between a fiction mentoring class or a fiction intensive class taught by Angela Hunt. I chose the mentoring class to work “hands-on” with my manuscript and signed a publishing contract three months later. It was the right choice, but I also purchased Angela Hunt’s class recordings!
Now, I have the privilege and pleasure of attending a virtual book club with this amazing lady each month. Listening to both her critique and praise of other novels has taught me so much. I’m honored to call her friend, and I learn so much from every biblical novel she writes. Here’s what I think of her most recent offering: The Woman from Lydia.
Book Description:
Widowed Euodia, known to her neighbors as “the Lydian woman,” seeks to make a fresh start by moving to the foreign city of Philippi. She finds new purpose after meeting Paulos, apostle to the Gentiles, who opens her eyes to helping those in need, particularly women and those who have been enslaved.
Retired Roman soldier Hector has settled in Philippi with dreams of a future filled with wealth and status, pooling his army earnings with Lucius, his fellow comrade-in-arms turned business partner. His hopes are dashed, however, when Paulos robs their youngest enslaved girl of her lucrative ability to foretell the future, rendering her worthless to Hector’s ambition.
Determined to find someone to restore the girl’s valuable “gift,” Hector is willing to travel to the ends of the earth to do so. Following close behind him, Euodia and her servants embark on a journey to rescue Sabina and set her free forever.
My Review:
🙂 🙂 🙂 :-)1/2 (4 ½) Smiles
Angela Hunt is a master storyteller. She proves her skill in many genres, from children’s books (The Tale of Three Trees) to contemporary fiction (my favorite is The Truth Teller). And her biblical novels never fail to fascinate. The Woman from Lydia is another in Hunt’s long line of well-researched and detailed stories. It expands on a little-known female character of the Bible, giving her life, breath, and a depth of character that makes Scripture more meaningful and memorable.
Hunt is well-known for teaching her writing students, “Don’t reveal things about your characters until the reader NEEDS to know.” She slowly unfolds backstory on each character in The Woman from Lydia, following her own advice. Tension and conflict crackle until the final scene. Every storyline “closes the circle,” apart from a small one. The ending is plausible, realistic, and hopeful—without feeling forced. I would recommend this as one of my favorites of Angela Hunt’s New Testament novels. Excellent read!
To Find Out More About Angela Hunt…
CLICK HERE to find out more about my friend, Angela Hunt. She’s truly one of the most interesting ladies I know! (And one of the only people who has a Wikipedia listing that seems pretty accurate!)
From her website: Angela admits to being fascinated by animals, medicine, psychology, unexplained phenomena, chickens, and “just about everything” except sports. Books, she says, have always shaped her life— in the fifth grade she learned how to flirt from reading Gone with the Wind.
This woman has a heart of gold, a spine of iron, and a keyboard with wings. I love her dearly!
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